The war is over. After nearly five years of courtroom trench warfare that helped define an era of crypto regulation, Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have officially laid down their arms.
In a joint filing with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, both sides agreed to dismiss their appeals, bringing a conclusive end to one of the industry’s most closely watched legal battles. The move leaves intact District Judge Analisa Torres’s 2023 ruling that Ripple’s direct sales of XRP to institutional buyers violated securities laws, while its sales to retail investors on public exchanges did not.
“Following the Commission’s vote today, the SEC and Ripple formally filed directly with the Second Circuit to dismiss their appeals. The end…and now back to business,” Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty posted on X.
XRP Price Surge
The market’s reaction was immediate. XRP jumped to $3.32 as of 2:13 a.m. ET Friday, its highest level of 2025, with 24-hour trading volume at $11.36 billion — a 168.76% surge on the day. The immediate 10% jump built on a wave of recent optimism, with the token already up over 42% in the past month as settlement rumors intensified.
On South Korea’s Upbit exchange, a major hub for XRP trading, volumes spiked more than 1,200% as traders absorbed the news. “Korea has received the news! XRP volume jumps 1,211.51% up,” said crypto analyst Chad Steingraber, sharing an XRP launchpad chart from Upbit.
A New Detente in Washington
The dismissal is also the most visible sign of a broader pivot at the SEC under the new administration, which has moved away from the “regulation-by-enforcement” approach of its predecessors. Led by Commissioner Hester Peirce and expected incoming Chair Paul Atkins, the agency has paused or dropped similar cases against Coinbase, Kraken, and others.
For XRP holders, the legal clarity removes a long-standing overhang. “SEC & Ripple $XRP officially end their legal battle after a joint dismissal of appeals,” said market strategist Theo Mercer. “One of crypto’s longest fights is finally over, removing the biggest cloud over XRP. Regulatory clarity + restored confidence = room for explosive growth. Is this the catalyst for a new XRP rally?”
What It Means for Ripple—and Crypto
Ripple now operates without the looming threat of litigation for the first time in nearly half a decade. Freed from legal distractions, the company can focus on its core business in cross-border payments and institutional finance. Its recent acquisition of Rail Financial, aimed at strengthening stablecoin infrastructure, signals that growth plans are already underway.
For the wider industry, the Torres ruling stands as the most significant, though non-binding, precedent yet on secondary market token sales. It offers a potential roadmap for exchanges and issuers: tokens sold to the public on open markets are less likely to be deemed securities, while institutional sales remain a legal gray zone.
ChainStreet’s Take
Ripple’s clean break from the SEC frees the company to focus on cross-border payments, institutional partnerships, and its expanding stablecoin infrastructure following the acquisition of Rail Financial. But the precedent set by Judge Torres is just as important — especially for other tokens caught in the regulatory gray zone.
The fight is over, and the market’s first ripple effects are clear. The next wave will be seen in the SEC’s revised rulebook—and in the legal strategies of other token projects that now have a clearer path forward.
